I recently had a client ask me what would happen to his firearms on his death. He owns several, all registered, and he has a valid firearms licence, but no one in his family has a licence and none of them would be interested in holding onto the firearms after his death. I did some digging around, and found a very helpful person at the RCMP’s helpline on firearms registration.
It turns out that, while it is mandatory to have a licence and registration to own a firearm, there is an exemption for an executor handling firearms under the terms of a will (and, I presume, a similar exemption for an executor acting under an intestacy). The executor is permitted to obtain and store the firearms pending a sale to an authorized (read: licensed and registered) third party. This allows the executor to deal with the firearms without undue expense and without breaking the law.
For more information on transferring firearms, contact the friendly folks at the RCMP.
